Mail-box.



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APPLIOATION FILED H07. 25, 1907.

ATTORNEYS 'uit Ncmus PETER: qq., lusumamufb. l:4

JOSEPH ALBERT SIEGFRIED, OF MONMOUTI-I, ILLINOIS.

MAIL-BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J'une 2, 1908.

Application led November 25, 1907. Serial No. 408,664.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOSEPH ALBERT SIEG- FRIED, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Monmouth, in the county of Warren and State of Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Mail-Box, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The purpose of this invention is to provide novel details of construction for a mail box, that are extremely simple and durable, and which adapt the improved mail box for the automatic display of a sign that will indicate if mail has been deposited in the box.

The improvement is particularly well adapted for use on rural mail routes, as it affords means for the infallible indication that mail has been placed in the box by the carrier, and also will exhibit a signal for notifying the carrier that mail has been placed in the box for collection by him.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of parts, as is hereinafter described and defined in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

' Figure l is a perspective view of the improved mail box supported in position for service and adjusted to notify mail recipients that mail has been deposited in the box Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the improved mail box, showing the parts adjusted to indicate that mail 'is deposited therein, and Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view, substantially on the line 3-3 in Fig. 2,.

The body 5 of the mail box is represented as cylindrical, but may be polygonal in cross section and be equally as serviceable, the cylindrical form being preferred as it is more convenient for manufacture. The box body 5 is of a suitable length for the reception of mail matter, either letters or printed matter that is not too bulky, and at one end is closed by a fixed wall 5a. The body 5 is preferably formed of plate metal, and at its open end is provided with a door 45b,`that is formed Vof plate metal and dished, as shown in Fig. 2, thus rendering it rigid.

A rabbet a is formed on the periphery of the body 5, at the o en end thereof, and upon said end, exterior of the rabbet, the free edge of the door 5b is fitted, and, as shown, said door is hinged at b upon the body 5, at the rabbet, thus adapting the door for guarding the open end of the box body. It will be noted in Fig. 2 that the door 5b', when closed, impinges upon the shoulder formed by the rabbet a, thus producing a tight oint therebetween.

Opposite the hinge b a hasp c is hinged upon the door 5b, which hasp is slotted for the reception of a staple c', that is projected,

from the shell of the box body 5 and may receive a padlock c2 when the hasp is folded thereover, whereby the door may be secured in closed condition upon the shell or body 5.

Centrally in the fixed end wall 5fJL a perforation is formed, and in said perforation is slidably fitted the body of a pusher-rod 6, which is preferably cylindrical and of greater length than that of the box body 5. Upon the outer end of the pusher-rod 6 a knob or other handle-piece d is formed or secured, and on the other extremity, that is within the box body 5, a plunger 6, that may be formed of plate metal, is aflixed. The disklike plunger is fitted loosely within the body 5 and is adapted for free reciprocation therein by a corresponding manual actuation of the pusher-rod 6.

The box body 5 is mounted upon twin bracket-frames 7, 7, that are secured upon the exterior surface thereof, at or near each end of said body, said frames having projecting feet e thereon, which may be seated upon and secured to a stable object, such as the side wall of a building, or upon the side of an upright post, and they are shown as attached upon a post A.

The mail box in complete form is disposed horizontally upon its support, such as A, and the door 5b is arranged so as to hang pendent, having the hasp and lock thereon at the lower side of the box body 5, thereby adapting the same for convenient manipulation 'when the door is opened or closed. Assuming that the mail box is employed as a receptacle for mail on a rural mail route, and that the post A is positioned-for convenient access thereto by those that receive mail therefrom, and also for the mail carrier to deposit such matter in the box, it will be seen that for the introduction of mail matter through the open end of the box, after the door 5b has been opened, the carrier must pushthe plunger 6'al toward the opposite end of the box, to enable the free insertion of mail matter. Obviously, the sliding movement of the plunger-disk 6a toward the xed end wall 5a will correspondingly project the pusher-rod 6 out of the box, and such an exposure of the rod will be a signal to those who get mail from the box that mail matter has been deposited therein.

It will be understood that to adapt the device for efficient service as a mail indicator, the party who removes mail from the box must push the plunger toward and near to the door b, which will correspondingly slide the pusher-rod 6 into the box, so that the carrier will be obliged to press the plunger forward to obtain room for the introduction of mail into the box.

Furthermore, in case mail matter that is to be taken up by the carrier has been placed in the mail box by those having a key and thus having access thereto, it will be evident that the consequent exposure of the pusherrod 6 will serve as a signal to the carrier that such mail is within the box for its removal.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. A mail box, comprising a hollow body, a door securable on one end of said body, a

' pusher-rod slidable in the body through a wall on the other end thereof that closes said en d, and a plunger-disk mounted upon the end of the pusher-rod that is within the body.

2. A mail box, comprising a cylindrical hollow body, a door hinged upon one end of said body for its closure, releasable means for securing the door closed, a fixed wall closing the other end of the body, a pusherrod slidable through a central perforation in said wall, and a plungerdisk secured upon the end of the pusher-rod that is within the hollow body.

3. A mail box, comprising a cylindrical hollow body, bracket-frames thereon for securing said body upon a stable support, a door hinged upon one end of said body for its closure, locking means for securing the door closed, a centrally perforated wall fixed at the opposite ends of the hollow body, a pusher-rod reciprocal in said perforation, and a plunger-disk secured upon the end of the pusher-rod that is within the hollow box body.

ln testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH ALBERT SIEGFRIED.

Witnesses:

T. G. PEAoocx, C. S. HUMBERs. 

